JPH05183779A - Video camera - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To freely rotatably attach an EVF to a video camera mainbody without generating dead space and also to prevent the break of a cable connecting EVF to the camera mainbody. CONSTITUTION:EVF(electronic view finder) 3 is freely rotatably attach to the camera mainbody 1 with an arm 17 and a guide shaft 18 is provided at the lower end of an end surface of the camera mainbody 1. Then, the guide shaft 18 is engaged to the guide groove 13 of a rail 12 which is fitted in the camera mainbody 1 and EVF 3 is made to be rotatable to the camera mainbody by slider crank mechanism.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a video camera having an electronic viewfinder (hereinafter referred to as EVF).

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An EV as a viewfinder for a video camera
Some use F. The EVF is an image formed by a lens unit and converted into an electric signal by a solid-state image sensor (CCD), and is displayed on a small display for viewing. A schematic configuration of this type of video camera is shown in FIG. In FIG. 3, the lens unit 2 is provided on the side surface of the camera body 1, and the EVF 3 is attached behind the lens unit 2. On the side surface of the camera body 1, the lens portion 2 and the EV
A battery storage portion 4 is provided below F3.

In the video camera constructed as described above, when an image is taken with the lens angle facing upward, if the EVF 3 is fixed, it becomes difficult to see the image. Therefore, the EVF 3 is rotatable with respect to the camera body 1. 4 and 5 show a conventional EVF3 rotation mechanism. As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the EVF 3 is rotatably attached to the side surface of the camera body 1 via a rotary shaft 5 attached at a right angle. The front end face has a semi-cylindrical shape about the rotation shaft 5 so that the front end face does not interfere with the rear face of the lens unit 2 and the upper face of the battery housing unit 4 when the EVF 3 is rotated.

[0004]

However, according to the rotation mechanism of the conventional EVF3 constructed as described above, the E
Since the front end surface of the VF3 has a semi-cylindrical shape, a dead space is generated inside and outside the EVF 3 at that portion. Further, the EVF 3 is supported by the camera body 1 in a cantilever manner by the rotation shaft 5, and it is necessary to provide the rotation shaft 5 with a click mechanism for locking the EVF 3 during rotation and a space for routing a cable connecting the EVF 3 and the camera body 1. Therefore, it is necessary to enlarge the rotating shaft 5 to some extent.

Further, since the entire EVF 3 is supported by the rotating shaft 5 in a cantilever manner, the bearing portion 6 also needs to have a certain length, and the length in the width direction of the entire camera becomes long. Dead space also occurs. Further, since the cable is passed through the rotary shaft 5, the cable may be twisted at the time of rotation and may be damaged. Moreover, a step is generated between the lens portion 2 and the EVF 3, which is not preferable in terms of appearance.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an EVF having an excellent appearance that does not cause a dead space and prevents damage to the cable.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a video camera having a rotating mechanism.

[0007]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a video camera, a camera body 1, a lens portion 2 provided at a front portion of the camera body 1, and a camera body 1 provided behind the lens portion 2. In a video camera having an movably mounted EVF 3, one end is rotatably connected to a predetermined position of the camera body 1, and the other end is a lens unit 2 of the EVF 3.
Arm 17 as a connecting member that is rotatably connected to the center of the opposite end of the EVF 3, and a guide groove 13 fixed to the lower end of the end of the EVF 3 and provided in the camera body 1 parallel to the optical axis of the lens unit 2. And a guide shaft 18 slidably engaged with.

The video camera according to a second aspect is characterized in that a cable 19 for connecting the camera body 1 and the EVF 3 is fixed to an arm 17 as a connecting member.

[0009]

In the video camera according to the first aspect, the other end of the arm 17 having one end rotatably connected to the camera body 1 and the guide groove 13 provided in the camera body 1 are slidably engaged. The EVF 3 can be easily rotated by the slider / crank mechanism via the guide shaft 18 which is fitted thereto. At this time, the distance between the EVF 3 and the camera body 1 and the lens unit 2 becomes very small when the EVF 3 is perpendicular to or parallel to the optical axis of the lens unit 2, and the dead space is eliminated. Further, the dead space in the EVF 3 is only a portion for accommodating the arm 17 and the guide groove 13, and is small.

In the video camera of the second aspect, since the cable 19 for electrically connecting the camera body 1 and the EVF 3 is fixed to the arm 17, it is necessary to allow the cable 19 to have a slack. In addition, it is possible to prevent damage due to twisting or the like.

[0011]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the video caramel of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

1 and 2 show the configuration of an embodiment of the present invention. In these figures, parts corresponding to those of the conventional example shown in FIG. 3 are designated by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted as appropriate. A feature of this embodiment is that the EVF 3 is rotatably connected to the camera body 1 by using a slider / crank mechanism.

That is, the rail 12 is attached to the upper side of the battery housing portion 4 on the side surface of the camera body 1 via the attachment plate 11. The lens part 2 is provided on both sides of the rail 12.
A guide groove 13 is formed parallel to the optical axis direction of the. On the other hand, a vertical groove 14 and a horizontal groove (not shown) are formed on the end surface and the lower surface of the EVF 3 that face the back surface of the lens portion 2. A shaft 15 is fixed to the side surface of the camera body 1 at a right angle, and the shaft 15 is located at one end of the guide groove 13 formed in the rail 12 on the lens portion 2 side.

On the other hand, a shaft 16 is fixed in the groove 14 of the EVF 3 at a middle position in the vertical direction so as to penetrate the groove 14 and be parallel to the shaft 15. Both ends of an arm 17 are rotatably connected to the shafts 14 and 15. Also EVF
A pair of guide shafts 18 projecting into the groove 14 are provided at the lower end of the guide shaft 3, and the projecting ends of the guide shafts 18 are slidably engaged with the guide grooves 13 formed in the rail 12. Further, both ends of the arm 17 are respectively the camera body 1 and the EVF 3
The cable 19 connected to is fixed.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described. When the EVF 3 is rotated in the direction indicated by the arrow A as shown in FIG.
The arm 17 rotates about the shaft 15, and at the same time, the guide shaft 18 moves in the direction indicated by the arrow B along the guide groove 13. At this time, since the cable 19 is fixed to the arm 17, a space for arranging the cable 19 is unnecessary, and it is possible to prevent the occurrence of damage due to twisting or the like. When the EVF 3 is in a position parallel to or perpendicular to the optical axis of the lens unit 2, the distance between the end face of the EVF 3 and the rear face of the lens unit 2 or the upper face of the mounting plate 11 is extremely small. The distance between the side surface of the EVF 3 and the side surface of the camera body 1 is also very small. Therefore, no dead space is generated in the height direction and the width direction. The dead space in the EVF 3 is small only in the groove 14 and a groove portion (not shown) in the direction perpendicular to the groove. Therefore, the space in the EVF 3 can be effectively used. Moreover, since there is no large difference in appearance, a sense of unity between the camera body 1 and the EVF 3 can be obtained.

[0016]

As described above, according to the video camera of the first aspect, since the EVF is rotatably attached to the camera body by using the slider / crank mechanism, the dead space is minimized. Therefore, the video camera can be downsized, and the appearance can be improved.

Further, according to the video camera of the second aspect, since the cable connecting the camera body and the EVF is fixed to the connecting member, it is possible to prevent the cable from being deformed and broken.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing a configuration of an embodiment of a video camera of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side view of a main part of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a schematic configuration of an example of a conventional video camera.

FIG. 4 is a side view of FIG.

FIG. 5 is a plan view of FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Camera Main Body 2 Lens Part 3 EVF (Electronic Viewfinder) 13 Guide Groove 17 Arm (Connecting Member) 18 Guide Axis 19 Cable

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A video camera having a camera body, a lens portion provided in a front portion of the camera body, and an electronic viewfinder rotatably attached to the camera body behind the lens portion, A connecting member, one end of which is rotatably connected to a predetermined position of the camera body, and the other end of which is rotatably connected to a center of an end portion of the electronic viewfinder facing the lens portion, and the electronic view. A video camera, comprising: a guide shaft fixed to a lower end of a finder and slidably engaged with a guide groove provided in the camera body in parallel with an optical axis of the lens unit. 2. The video camera according to claim 1, wherein a cable connecting the camera body and the electronic viewfinder is fixed to the connecting member.